Facebook Messenger gets Message Requests to let you talk with anyone

Out with the old, in with the new! With this new service, Facebook can also act as a means to commute with contractors, short-term business colleagues or anyone else who would wish to chat with the person but do not wish to be friends or share their numbers with them. Taking its place will be Message Requests, a new system that will allow people to send messages to Facebook users, even if they are not connected in any way. Of course Facebook itself will undoubtedly reap the benefits of an enhanced Messenger too – by allowing its users to make contact with any one of the 1.5 billion people already using the social network, uptake of Messenger is only likely to grow from its current base of 700 million active users. Previously, if you received a message from someone who wasn’t your friend or a mutual friend, it was filed away in the “Other” inbox, which was only accessible from the Web.

Most people didn’t even know the inbox existed — and those who knew were wary about checking it. “We truly want to make Messenger the place where you can find and privately connect with anyone you need to reach, but only be reached by the people you want to communicate with,” David Marcus, the Vice President of Messaging Products at Facebook wrote of the new feature. The Messenger app for iOS and Android didn’t even offer access to those messages. “We’ve heard so many stories like estranged parents trying to get back in touch, or you lost your wallet and someone trying to get in touch with you ” Facebook Messenger’s product manager Tony Leach told TechCrunch. See how he stresses out in the beginning – forget phone numbers, which shows that Facebook is dead serious about improving how we communicate with each other. Thankfully, this is set to change: Facebook has announced it will be phasing out the “Other” section, replacing it with something far more practical.

The change is that, now, if someone you don’t know sends you a message, you’ll be able to accept or reject the chat request, and they won’t know that you’ve read their message.